Damaged Oxygen Generators Repaired on Beleagured Mir

By David HoffmanThe Washington PostMOSCOW

Two balky oxygen generators aboard the Mir space station were repaired
late Monday at almost the same time NASA reported they were malfunctioning.
Russian Mission Control officials announced the repair Tuesday with more
than a touch of annoyance at the intense scrutiny of every mishap aboard
the troubled vessel. The Russian officials said both the primary oxygen
system and the backup system, using solid-fuel "candles" to generate
oxygen, are in working order. The announcement Monday from NASA in Houston
that both were broken had touched off alarms that yet another serious
problem could be facing the two Russian cosmonauts and American astronaut
on board.

Russian officials said the repairs were completed quickly, by 10:30 p.m.
Moscow time Monday evening, or 2:30 p.m. EDT. That was half an hour after
NASA's daily status report on Mir was issued, at 2 p.m. EDT, carrying
details of the problem.

Russian officials once again expressed surprise and irritation at the
extensive news media coverage of Mir's travails. They had not announced the
oxygen problem publicly, and they often have regarded malfunctions as just
another day's work. There have been hundreds of such small breakdowns over
the years on Mir, which has been occupied longer than any other space
station.

President Boris Yeltsin also jumped to the defense of the 11-year-old
space station, whose troubles have become symbolic of Russia's quest to
remain a global power on a shoestring budget. At the time it was launched,
Mir had a predicted service life of five years, and it is being kept in
orbit in part so Russia can claim a role in the planned international space
station.

"There is nothing tragic there," Yeltsin said during a visit to the
Russian city of Saratov. "And the guys, according to American space
specialists, did a good job. They thought the station was written off, that
it's impossible to carry out experiments there. Nothing of the sort. The
station is alive and will be alive."

Vladimir Solovyev, the Mission Control director, said the latest reports
of a breakdown in the oxygen system were "a completely incomprehensible
uproar." He told reporters, "to our greatest joy, and I think to your deep
disappointment, nothing extraordinary has happened aboard the station."

Meanwhile, Russian officials said Tuesday they are still trying to
restore more electrical power to Mir from the Spektr module's solar panels.
After the June 25 accident, Mir has been operating on reduced electrical
power, which has limited scientific experiments.